When visiting Central New York, there are many different counties and cities to check out. In Cortland, it is at their main university that the bulk of haunted tales for the area can be found. This article will take a look at the haunted thrills and chills associated with the State University of New York in Cortland, including a haunted dorm with an uninvited guest that can’t seem to stay away.
For starters, each year at the Clark dorm building, room 716 holds significance on the premises. It is here that the ghost of a football player has been seen on numerous occasions (still wearing his uniform). Above his eyebrow, he has a gash that appears to always bleed. The ghost spends his time roaming about the hallways and sitting outside the windowsill. Not much more is known about the history of this apparition or why he chooses the university as his haunting grounds.
If you enter Brockway Hall, you will find yourself located in the center of a complex that offers additional dorms on each side (Cheney and Degroat Hall). It is here that the ghost of a former cook in the hall haunts the vicinity. Once serving the students at what was considered the oldest dining hall on campus, there are still original constructions of the hall, such as the snack floor that can be found on the ground floor of the building. As the story goes, one morning, students making a pot of coffee in the kitchen caught sight of a man standing at the top of the staircase. This is the set of stairs that lead to the ground floor, as well as the loading dock.
When the students asked him if they could assist him in any way, he simply turned away and left without saying another word. He vanished into thin air by passing through the small break room situated separately from the kitchen. As an investigation ensued, no one could find out who the ghost was and where he had gone.
At Cheney Hall, which is connected to Brockway, a ghost of a former female student haunts this hall. She is known as “Elizabeth.” She once resided in Cheney, which is regarded as one of the oldest residence buildings on campus. During the early part of the 80s, it is said that in a rage, her boyfriend pushed her from the 4th floor staircase. The university embraced her untimely death, as a mural was erected in her honor. Ever since, strange occurrences have been know to occur on the grounds.
For example, students living on the 4th floor have reported being overtaken by an uneasy feeling after glancing at the mural. Some stated that it felt as if the painting was looking back at them. Others declare they have seen Elizabeth herself, in the form of a misty image that approaches people with arms stretching out. To sharpen your glare is to miss her altogether because just as quickly as she appears, she disappears.
Ironically, after her death, another female student fell in the same manner as Elizabeth, from the 4th floor. Being drunk at the time, she leaned over too far across the banister and fell. Amazingly, she was unharmed from the incident. At Degroat, the other connected hall of Brockway, it is said that the former tunnel leading to Broackway was haunted.